Background Briefing: October 3, 2023
Far-Right House Freedom Caucus Rebels Led by the Brat Matt Gaetz Who Hates McCarthy, Topple the Speaker
We begin with the historic day in the House of Representatives for all the wrong reasons as for the first time a speaker was dismissed and the chair vacated in a display of bitter infighting amongst Republicans between right wing conservatives and far-right insurrectionists led by an ambitious brat Matt Gaetz who clearly hates Kevin McCarthy. Joining us is John Lawrence, a visiting professor at the University of California, Washington Center who worked in the House of Representatives for 38 years and served as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s chief of staff for 8 years. His latest book is Arc of Power: Inside Nancy Pelosi’s Speakership, 2005-2010.
Today’s Fratricide in House With Democrats Joining the Insurrectionists in a 216 to 210 Vote to Remove McCarthy
Then we look further into today’s fratricide in the House as the Democrats voted with the Freedom Caucus rebels 216 to 210 to remove McCarthy from the speakership. Joining us is Thomas Kahn, who worked in Congress for 33 years where he served as staff director and chief counsel of the House Budget Committee and played a critical role on a number of budget negotiations including Simpson/Bowles, the Biden talks, the Super Committee, the successful Balanced Budget agreement of 1997 and the enactment of the Affordable Care Act. He is a fellow at the Center for the Study of Congress and the Presidency at American University.
The UN Plan to Deploy 1,000 Police From Kenya to Free Haitians From Gangs
Then we examine the UN plan to deploy a force of 1,000 police from Kenya to free the Haitian people from gangs who have all but taken over the country in collusion with members of the Haitian police. Joining us is Garry Pierre-Pierre, a Haitian-born Pulitzer-prize winning multimedia and entrepreneurial journalist who left the New York Times in 1999 to launch the Haitian Times, a New York-based English-language weekly publication serving the Haitian Diaspora. He is the Co-Founder of the City University of New York’s Center for Community and Ethnic Media.
Growing Tensions Between Canada and India
Then finally we look into the growing tensions between Canada and India following PM Trudeau’s charge that Indian agents assassinated a Sikh activist on Canadian soil. Joining us is Dr. Sumit Ganguly, who holds the Rabindranath Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations at Indiana University in Bloomington. His books include India Since 1980, India, Pakistan, and the Bomb: Debating Nuclear Stability in South Asia and his latest book is The Oxford Handbook of India’s National Security.